A balcony with a view
       Dr. Martin watched the preparation for the banquet from the balcony. His wife had banished him from helping because it was in his honor. He wiped the sweat from his bald head in frustration, however, because he loved to bake and run the barbeque himself, even as he loved to manage the distribution of barrels of beer to the bar.
       As he leaned on the barrier he heard a bark and turned to look towards the river. Another barge was floating by loaded up with old, discarded car batteries. A recent ballot to ban putting the trash in a local garbage dump had failed and the barge was taking its baggage up the river to the next town. That city had baffled its own residents by offering to accept the trash at a bargain rate. Apparently there was a large area of barren land that they had not been able to use. Now people marching in protest beset that city. More people were jumping on the bandwagon each day. The only winner was the barge company; the deal had saved them from going bankrupt.
       It was difficult to balance the needs of society with its desire to protect the environment, thought the Dr] as he frowned. We just have a way of battering this planet even as we feel we need to live more comfortably.
      Dr. Martin was brought back quickly to his setting, however, when he heard a noise and looked down to see that his wife had fallen down the basement steps. He ran down to help. His banishment was certainly over now.

       观景阳台
    马丁博士从阳台上看着人们为宴会做准备。因为这是为他举行的宴会，所以妻子把他驱逐到一边，不让他帮忙。可是他却沮丧地擦掉他那光头上的汗珠，因为他喜欢烘烤食品，喜欢亲自烧烤，正如他喜欢把一桶桶啤酒分配到吧台一样。
    马丁博士倚靠在屏障上，忽然听到一声狗叫，于是转过头向河的方向望去。又一艘装满废弃汽车电池的平底驳船缓缓驶过。最近举行的禁止将此类垃圾倒入当地垃圾站的投票失败了，驳船正将这些垃圾包袱运往下一个城镇。那座城市主动要求以便宜的价格接受这些垃圾，这使当地的居民大惑不解。显然，他们有一大片他们还无法利用的贫瘠土地。现在游行抗议的人群包围了城市，每天都有更多的人严厉批评这股潮流。惟一的赢家是运输公司，这笔生意使他们免于破产、起死回生。
    博士皱着眉头想道：在满足社会需求与保护环境之间确实是很难找到平衡。恰恰在我们觉得有必要生活得更舒适的时候，我们就会用某种方式破坏地球。
    不过，马丁博士很快就被一阵喧闹声带回到现实之中，他朝下一看，发现妻子从地下室的楼梯上跌了下去，他赶快跑下去帮忙。现在，妻子对他的驱逐当然结束啦。

单词详解:

baffle     v.1使困惑,难住;使受挫折;阻碍2用反射板控制(气流等)
baggage    n.行李;(喻)包袱
bake       v.烤,烘,焙
balcony    n.阳台;(电影院等的)楼厅,楼座
bald       a.秃头的;光秃的;赤裸裸的
ballot     n.选票,投票权,投票记录
ban        v.禁止,取缔,查禁
bandwagon  n.1(马戏团等吹打过市的)乐队彩车;宣传车
             2浪潮,时尚,声势浩大的运动
banish     v.1流放,放逐,把...驱逐出境2.消除,排除
banishment n.放逐,驱逐
bankrupt   n.破产,破产者
banquet    n.宴会v.盛宴款待
bar        n.酒吧间,餐柜;(木,金属等的)条,杆,棒,长方形或长椭圆形的)块
           v.关,禁闭;阻拦;禁止,不准
barbecue   n.烧烤;户外烤肉餐v.(尤指在户外)烤(肉类)
bargain    n.协定,协议;交易;物价商品,便宜的东西
           v.讲价,讨价还价;讲条件,谈判
barge      n.驳船
bark       v./n.狗(狐)叫
barrel     n.桶,一桶之量
barren     a.(土地等)贫瘠,荒芜的,不毛的;不生育的,不结果的
barrier    n.1障碍物,屏障2障碍,隔阂,壁垒,妨碍因素
basement   n.地下室;(建筑物的)墙根,墙脚
batter     v.1捣毁,砸烂,撞击2重创,连续打击3.(尤指不爱惜而)磨损,损坏
battery    n.电池(组),蓄电池(组)